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Ninmah (Sumerian: NIN.MAH / NIN.HURSAG β€” "Exalted Lady")

Sumerian name: NIN.MAH / NIN.HURSAG

Ninmah (Sumerian: Ninmah, "Great Lady"; also known as Nintur, Ninhursag, Ki, Mami, Mammi, Aruru, Belit-ili β€” "the Lady of the Gods") was the Anunnaki mother goddess who assisted Enki in the genetic engineering of humanity. In Zecharia Sitchin's narrative, Ninmah was the chief geneticist who performed the actual laboratory work of creating Homo sapiens.

Role in the Anunnaki Hierarchy

Attribute Detail
Father Anu (or possibly Enlil)
Siblings Enki, Enlil (in some accounts)
Domain Creation, birth, motherhood, the womb
Sacred Number 5 or 15
Symbol The omega symbol, the womb, the uterus

Ninmah was one of the most ancient and revered deities in the Sumerian pantheon. Her name appears in the earliest Sumerian texts as the "mother of all children" and "the creator of humanity."

Role in Creation

The Creation of Humanity

According to the Atra Hasis epic and Sitchin's reading:

  1. The Igigi (lower-ranking Anunnaki) rebel against their hard labor mining gold
  2. Enki proposes creating a "primitive worker" (Lullu) to take over the work
  3. Ninmah (as Nintur/Mami) is tasked with the actual creation
  4. She mixes clay with the "essence" of a slain god
  5. Fourteen "clay embryos" are created β€” seven males and seven females
  6. Ninmah holds the "clay over the pit" β€” a ritual that Sitchin read as an in vitro fertilization or genetic engineering procedure

"The Lady of the Gods mixed the clay with the blood of a god. She placed it in the womb of birth. And the first humans were born."

The Failed Experiments

In the so-called "Debate between Enki and Ninmah," the two gods create various imperfect humans β€” a blind man, a lame man, a man with incontinence, a man with no sexual organs, a woman who cannot give birth. This has been read by Sitchin and others as evidence of failed early experiments in genetic engineering.

Sitchin's Interpretation

Ninmah was, in Sitchin's reading:

  1. The Chief Geneticist β€” Ninmah performed the actual laboratory manipulations that created Homo sapiens
  2. The Mother Goddess β€” She was revered as the source of all life because she literally midwifed humanity into existence
  3. The Wet Nurse β€” Ninmah was also the goddess of childbirth and infant care, the one who "determined the fate" of newborn children
  4. The Consort of Enki β€” In some traditions, Ninmah was Enki's consort, and together they created the first humans

The Name

Ninmah's many names reflect her many functions:

Name Meaning
Ninmah "Great Lady"
Ninhursag "Lady of the Mountain"
Nintur "Lady of the Womb"
Ki "Earth" (as a primordial element)
Mami/Mammi "Mother" (the origin of the word "mama")
Aruru "She who creates"
Belit-ili "Lady of the Gods"

Cuneiform Evidence

The name NIN.MAH (π’Š©π’Œ†π’ˆ€, "Exalted Lady") is well attested in Sumerian literary tablets. Ninmah (also known as Ninhursag, Nintur, or Mami) appears in creation mythology as the goddess who assisted Enki in shaping humanity.

  • CDLI Corpus: NIN.MAH β€” Browse tablets mentioning Ninmah
  • Key tablet: Enki and Ninmah: The Creation of Man (CDLI P345876) β€” A Sumerian literary composition in which Enki and Ninmah compete in creating imperfect humans. This tablet is a primary source for the Anunnaki creation narrative.
  • Enki and Ninmah Sumerian tablet recording the myth of Enki and Ninmah, describing the creation of humans and the failed early experiments. (CDLI P345876)

See Also

Sources

  • Sitchin, Z. (1976). The 12th Planet. Chapter 10.
  • Sitchin, Z. (1990). Genesis Revisited. Chapter 6.
  • Sitchin, Z. (1985). The Wars of Gods and Men.
  • Kramer, S. N. (1963). The Sumerians.